Open Cluster Survey Research Articles

The Gaia-ESO Survey: No sign of multiple stellar populations in open clusters from their sodium and oxygen abundances

Context. The light element (anti-)correlations shown by globular clusters (GCs) are the main spectroscopic signature of multiple stellar populations. These internal abundance variations provide us with fundamental constraints on the formation mechanism of stellar clusters. Aims. Using Gaia-ESO, the largest and most homogeneous survey of open clusters (OCs), we intend to check whether these stellar aggregates display the same patterns. Based on previous studies of many GCs, several young and massive clusters in the Magellanic Clouds, as well as a few OCs, we do not expect to find any anti-correlation, given the low mass of Milky Way OCs. Methods. We used the results based on UVES spectra of stars in Gaia-ESO to derive the distribution of Na and O abundances and see whether they show an unexplained dispersion or whether they are anti-correlated. By selecting only high-probability members with high-precision stellar parameters, we ended up with more than 700 stars in 74 OCs. We examined the O-Na distribution in 28 OCs with at least 4 stars available as well as the Na distribution in 24 OCs, with at least 10 stars available. Results. We find that the distribution of Na abundances is compatible with a single-value population, within the errors. The few apparent exceptions can be explained by differences in the evolutionary phase (main sequence and giant post first dredge-up episode) or by difficulties in analysing low gravity giants. We did not find any indication of an Na-O anti-correlation in any of the clusters for which O has been derived. Conclusions. Based on the very small spread we find, OCs maintain the status of single stellar populations. However, a definitive answer requires studying more elements and larger samples covering different evolutionary phases. This will be possible with the next generation of large surveys.

Variable Stars in the 50BiN Open Cluster Survey. III. NGC 884

Open clusters are the basic building blocks that serve as a laboratory for the study of young stellar populations in the Milky Way. Variable stars in open clusters provide a unique way to accurately probe the internal structure, temporal and dynamical evolutionary stages of individual stars and the host cluster. The most powerful tool for such studies is time-domain photometric observations. This paper follows the route of our previous work, concentrating on a photometric search for variable stars in NGC 884. The target cluster is the companion of NGC 869, forming the well-known double cluster system that is gravitationally bound. From the observation run in 2016 November, a total of 9247 B-band CCD images and 8218 V-band CCD images were obtained. We detected a total of 15 stars with variability in visual brightness, including five Be stars, three eclipsing binaries, and seven of unknown types. Two new variable stars were discovered in this work. We also compared the variable star content of NGC 884 with its companion NGC 869.

The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey: Motivation, implementation, GIRAFFE data processing, analysis, and final data products

Context. The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey is an ambitious project designed to obtain astrophysical parameters and elemental abundances for 100 000 stars, including large representative samples of the stellar populations in the Galaxy, and a well-defined sample of 60 (plus 20 archive) open clusters. We provide internally consistent results calibrated on benchmark stars and star clusters, extending across a very wide range of abundances and ages. This provides a legacy data set of intrinsic value, and equally a large wide-ranging dataset that is of value for the homogenisation of other and future stellar surveys and Gaia's astrophysical parameters. Aims. This article provides an overview of the survey methodology, the scientific aims, and the implementation, including a description of the data processing for the GIRAFFE spectra. A companion paper introduces the survey results. Methods. Gaia-ESO aspires to quantify both random and systematic contributions to measurement uncertainties. Thus, all available spectroscopic analysis techniques are utilised, each spectrum being analysed by up to several different analysis pipelines, with considerable effort being made to homogenise and calibrate the resulting parameters. We describe here the sequence of activities up to delivery of processed data products to the ESO Science Archive Facility for open use. Results. The Gaia-ESO Survey obtained 202 000 spectra of 115 000 stars using 340 allocated VLT nights between December 2011 and January 2018 from GIRAFFE and UVES. Conclusions. The full consistently reduced final data set of spectra was released through the ESO Science Archive Facility in late 2020, with the full astrophysical parameters sets following in 2022. A companion article reviews the survey implementation, scientific highlights, the open cluster survey, and data products.

The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey: Implementation, data products, open cluster survey, science, and legacy

Context. In the last 15 years different ground-based spectroscopic surveys have been started (and completed) with the general aim of delivering stellar parameters and elemental abundances for large samples of Galactic stars, complementing Gaia astrometry. Among those surveys, the Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey, the only one performed on a 8m class telescope, was designed to target 100 000 stars using FLAMES on the ESO VLT (both Giraffe and UVES spectrographs), covering all the Milky Way populations, with a special focus on open star clusters. Aims. This article provides an overview of the survey implementation (observations, data quality, analysis and its success, data products, and releases), of the open cluster survey, of the science results and potential, and of the survey legacy. A companion article reviews the overall survey motivation, strategy, Giraffe pipeline data reduction, organisation, and workflow. Methods. We made use of the information recorded and archived in the observing blocks; during the observing runs; in a number of relevant documents; in the spectra and master catalogue of spectra; in the parameters delivered by the analysis nodes and the working groups; in the final catalogue; and in the science papers. Based on these sources, we critically analyse and discuss the output and products of the Survey, including science highlights. We also determined the average metallicities of the open clusters observed as science targets and of a sample of clusters whose spectra were retrieved from the ESO archive. Results. The Gaia-ESO Survey has determined homogeneous good-quality radial velocities and stellar parameters for a large fraction of its more than 110 000 unique target stars. Elemental abundances were derived for up to 31 elements for targets observed with UVES. Lithium abundances are delivered for about 1/3 of the sample. The analysis and homogenisation strategies have proven to be successful; several science topics have been addressed by the Gaia-ESO consortium and the community, with many highlight results achieved. Conclusions. The final catalogue will be released through the ESO archive in the first half of 2022, including the complete set of advanced data products. In addition to these results, the Gaia-ESO Survey will leave a very important legacy, for several aspects and for many years to come.

Variable stars in the 50BiN open cluster survey. II. NGC 869

This work presents a time-series photometric variability survey of the young open cluster NGC 869. More than 13 000 CCD frames in the BV filters were collected on 19 nights between 2014 November 6 and 2014 December 24. In a 20′ × 20′ field centered on the cluster, we detected a total of 28 stars showing photometric variability, 12 of which are new discoveries. The classifications and memberships of the variable stars are discussed according to the behaviors and periods of the light curves as well as their positions on the H-R diagram. These results conclude that 22 variable stars are probable members of the cluster while six other stars belong to the field star population. They are categorized as 18 pulsating variable stars (four β Cep, seven SPB, one β Cep / SPB, four Be stars, and two δ Sct / γ Dor candidates), seven eclipsing binaries (five EA and two EB) and three unknown type stars.

WIYN Open Cluster Study. LXXXII. Radial-velocity Measurements and Spectroscopic Binary Orbits in the Open Cluster NGC 7789

Abstract We present an extensive time-series radial-velocity (RV) survey of stars in the rich open cluster NGC 7789 (1.6 Gyr, [Fe/H] = +0.02). The stellar sample lies within an 18′ circular radius from the cluster center (10 pc in projection, or about 2 core radii), and includes giants, red clump stars, blue stragglers, red stragglers, sub-subgiants, and main-sequence stars down to 1 mag below the turnoff. Our survey began in 2005 and comprises more than 9000 RV measurements from the Hydra Multi-Object Spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope. We identify 624 likely cluster members and present the orbital solutions for 81 cluster binary stars with periods between 1.45 and 4200 days. From the main-sequence binary solutions we fit a circularization period of days. We calculate an incompleteness-corrected main-sequence binary frequency of 31% ± 4% for binaries with periods less than 104 days, similar to other WIYN Open Cluster Survey (WOCS) open clusters of all ages. We detect a blue straggler binary frequency of 33% ± 17%, consistent with the similarly aged open cluster NGC 6819. We also find one secure, rapidly rotating sub-subgiant and one red straggler candidate in our sample.

The first CCD photometric study of the open cluster NGC 744

We present the first CCD photometric observations of open cluster NGC 744, as part of the 50BiN Open Cluster Survey. The color-magnitude diagrams of this cluster were derived from absolute BV RI photometry on a good photometric night. A brief isochrone fitting gives a distance modulus of (m − M)V = 11.58 ± 0.2 and a reddening of E(B − V) = 0.35 ± 0.05 with an age of log t = 8.30 ± 0.05. By carefully examining the BV time-series data, we discovered four new variable stars in a 20′ × 20′ field around the cluster. We classified them as three eclipsing binary stars and one δ Scuti pulsating star, mainly based on the light-curve shape, the detected periods and the positions on the color-magnitude diagrams.

Interrelated main-sequence mass–luminosity, mass–radius, and mass–effective temperature relations

Absolute parameters of 509 main-sequence stars selected from the components of detached-eclipsing spectroscopic binaries in the Solar neighbourhood are used to study mass-luminosity, mass-radius and mass-effective temperature relations (MLR, MRR and MTR). The MLR function is found better if expressed by a six-piece classical MLR ($L \propto M^{\alpha}$) rather than a fifth or a sixth degree polynomial within the mass range of $0.179\leq M/M_{\odot}\leq 31$. The break points separating the mass-ranges with classical MLR do not appear to us to be arbitrary. Instead, the data indicate abrupt changes along the mass axis in the mean energy generation per unit of stellar mass. Unlike the MLR function, the MRR and MTR functions cannot be determined over the full range of masses. A single piece MRR function is calibrated from the radii of stars with $M\leq1.5M_{\odot}$, while a second single piece MTR function is found for stars with $M>1.5M_{\odot}$. The missing part of the MRR is computed from the MLR and MTR, while the missing part of the MTR is computed from the MLR and MRR. As a result, we have interrelated MLR, MRR and MTR, which are useful in determining the typical absolute physical parameters of main-sequence stars of given masses. These functions are also useful to estimate typical absolute physical parameters from typical $T_{eff}$ values. Thus, we were able to estimate the typical absolute physical parameters of main-sequence stars observed in the Sejong Open Cluster survey, based on that survey's published values for $T_{eff}$. Since typical absolute physical parameters of main sequence stars cannot normally be determined in such photometric surveys, the interrelated functions are shown to be useful to compute such missing parameters from similar surveys.

The Initial Mass Function of Young Open Clusters in the Galaxy: A Preliminary Result

AbstractThe initial mass function (IMF) is an essential tool with which to study star formation processes. We have initiated the photometric survey of young open clusters in the Galaxy, from which the stellar IMFs are obtained in a homogeneous way. A total of 16 famous young open clusters have preferentially been studied up to now. These clusters have a wide range of surface densities (log σ = −1 to 3 [stars pc−2] for stars with mass larger than 5M⊙) and cluster masses (Mcl = 165 to 50, 000M⊙), and also are distributed in five different spiral arms in the Galaxy. It is possible to test the dependence of star formation processes on the global properties of individual clusters or environmental conditions. We present a preliminary result on the variation of the IMF in this paper.

The OPD photometric survey of open clusters I. Techniques, program details and first results of robust determination of the fundamental parameters

Open clusters are considered valuable objects for the investigation of galactic structure and dynamics since their distances, ages and velocities can be determined with good precision. According to the New Catalog of Optically Visible Open Clusters and Candidates (Dias et al., 2002) about 10% of the optically revealed open clusters remain unstudied. However, previous analysis (Moitinho, 2010) has indicated that not considering this unstudied population introduces significant biases in the study of the structure and evolution of the Milky Way. In addition, a systematic revision of the data contained in the catalog, collected from the literature, is needed, due to its inhomogeneity.In this first paper of a series, we present the observational strategy, data reduction and analysis procedures of a UBRVI photometric survey of southern open star clusters carried out at Pico dos Dias Observatory (Brazil). The aim of the program is to contribute to an unbiased, homogenous collection of cluster fundamental parameters. We show that the implementation of a sequence of systematic procedures considerably improves the quality of the results.To illustrate the methods we present the first results based on one night of observations. The parameters, reddening, distance, age and metallicity, were obtained by fitting theoretical isochrones to cluster color–color and multidimensional color–magnitude diagrams, applying a cross-entropy optimization algorithm developed by our group, which takes into account UBVRI photometric data weighted using a membership-likelihood estimation.

Sejong Open Cluster Survey (SOS) – II. IC 1848 cluster in the H ii region W5 West

IC 1848 is one of the young open clusters in the giant star forming Cas OB6 association. Several interesting aspects relating to star formation processes in giant star forming regions attracted us to study the initial mass function (IMF), star formation mode, and properties of pre-main sequence stars (PMS). A UBVI and H alpha photometric study of the young open cluster IC 1848 was conducted as part of the "Sejong Open cluster Survey" (SOS). We have selected 105 early-type members from photometric diagrams. Their mean reddening is <E(B-V)> = 0.660 +/- 0.054 mag. Using the published photometric data with near- and mid-infrared archival data we confirmed the normal reddening law (R_V = 3.1) toward the cluster (IC 1848). A careful zero-age main sequence fitting gives a distance modulus of V_0 - M_V = 11.7 +/- 0.2 mag, equivalent to 2.2 +/- 0.2 kpc. H alpha photometry and the list of young stellar objects identified by Koenig et al. permitted us to select a large number of PMS stars comprising 196 H alpha emission stars, 35 H alpha emission candidates, 5 Class I, 368 Class II, and 24 transition disk candidates. From the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram using stellar evolution models, we estimate an age of 5 Myr from several evolved stars and 3 Myr from the PMS stars. The IMF was derived from stars with mass larger than 3 M_sun, and the slope is slightly steeper (Gamma = -1.6 +/- 0.2) than the Salpeter/Kroupa IMF. Finally, we estimated the mass accretion rate of PMS stars with a UV excess. The mean mass accretion rate is about 1.4 x 10^-8 M_sun yr^-1 in the mass range of 0.5 M_sun to 2 M_sun, whereas intermediate-mass stars (>= 2.5 M_sun) exhibit a much higher accretion rate of dM/dt > 10^-6 M_sun yr^-1.

SEJONG OPEN CLUSTER SURVEY (SOS). 0. TARGET SELECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS

Star clusters are superb astrophysical laboratories containing cospatial and coeval samples of stars with similar chemical composition. We have initiated the Sejong Open cluster Survey (SOS) - a project dedicated to providing homogeneous photometry of a large number of open clusters in the SAAO Johnson-Cousins' $UBVI$ system. To achieve our main goal, we have paid much attention to the observation of standard stars in order to reproduce the SAAO standard system. Many of our targets are relatively small, sparse clusters that escaped previous observations. As clusters are considered building blocks of the Galactic disk, their physical properties such as the initial mass function, the pattern of mass segregation, etc. give valuable information on the formation and evolution of the Galactic disk. The spatial distribution of young open clusters will be used to revise the local spiral arm structure of the Galaxy. In addition, the homogeneous data can also be used to test stellar evolutionary theory, especially concerning rare massive stars. In this paper we present the target selection criteria, the observational strategy for accurate photometry, and the adopted calibrations for data analysis such as color-color relations, zero-age main sequence relations, Sp - Mv relations, Sp - Teff relations, Sp - color relations, and Teff - BC relations. Finally we provide some data analysis such as the determination of the reddening law, the membership selection criteria, and distance determination.

Properties of abundance gradient along the Galactic disk and the role of LAMOST

AbstractIn this paper, we present our recent work on the evolution of abundance gradients along the Milky Way disk based on the Geneva Copenhagen Survey (GCS) and Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) data. We will also discuss the role of the LAMOST Milky Way disk survey in clarifying the properties of metallicity breaks observed through open clusters and young tracers along the Milky Way disk. It is believed that the Galactic disk forms inside-out, in which the stellar population at increasing radii is younger and more metal poor. This picture is consistent with most Galactic Chemical Evolution (GCE) models which also predict a tight correlation between the metallicity and age of stars at a given radius. However, it is only a result of “steady state" and no dynamical evolution effects were taken into account. We have selected two stellar samples from GCS and RAVE, each sample contains about 10,000 local thin-disk, main-sequence stars. We use the guiding radius which is determined by the conservation of z-direction angular momentum, to eliminate the blurring effects. And also use the effective temperature of the main sequence stars as a proxy of stellar age. It is shown that the metallicity gradient flattens as the age increases. This is not consistent with our previous GCE prediction, but can be explained by radial mixing effects. In order to further demonstrate the abundance breaks observed in the Galactic disk we have proposed, and have been carrying out, an open cluster survey project based on LAMOST. We plan to observe at least 400 open clusters in the northern Galactic sky. From the observations, we will get uniform parameters for those clusters with radial velocity and metallicities. We anticipate that this uniform open cluster sample could clarify the observed abundance break around the Milky Way disk corotation radius and also give a more robust result concerning the evolution of the abundance gradient.

AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY IN THE RICH OPEN CLUSTER NGC 6819 USINGXMM-NEWTON

We present the first study of the X-ray population of the intermediate-age rich open cluster NGC 6819 using the XMM-Newton Observatory. In the past decade, Chandra X-ray observations have shown a relationship between the X-ray population of globular clusters and their internal dynamics and encounter frequency. We investigate the role dynamics possibly play in the formation of X-ray sources in NGC 6819, and compare our results with known properties of field and globular cluster X-ray populations. We implement a multi wavelength approach to studying the X-ray sources, utilizing X-ray and UV data from XMM observations along with the wealth of photometry and radial-velocity data from the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS) and the CFHT Open Cluster Survey. Within the cluster half-light radius we detect 12 X-ray sources down to a luminosity of 10^30 erg/s for cluster members. The sources include a candidate quiescent low-mass X-ray binary (qLMXB), a candidate cataclysmic variable, and two active binary systems. The presence of a qLMXB in an open cluster is previously unexpected given the known relationships between luminous X-ray sources and encounter frequency in globular clusters, and most likely has a dynamical origin.

SEJONG OPEN CLUSTER SURVEY. I. NGC 2353

UBV I CCD photometry of NGC 2353 is performed as a part of the "Sejong Open cluster Survey" (SOS). Using photometric membership criteria we select probable members of the cluster. We derive the reddening and distance to the cluster, i.e., E(B - V ) = 0.10 <TEX>${\pm}$</TEX> 0.02 mag and 1.17 <TEX>${\pm}$</TEX> 0.04 kpc, respectively. We find that the projected distribution of the probable members on the sky is elliptical in shape rather than circular. The age of the cluster is estimated to be log(age)=8.1 <TEX>${\pm}$</TEX> 0.1 in years, older than what was found in previous studies. The minimum value of binary fraction is estimated to be about 48 <TEX>${\pm}$</TEX> 5 percent from a Gaussian function fit to the distribution of the distance moduli of the photometric members. Finally, we also obtain the luminosity function and the initial mass function (IMF) of the probable cluster members. The slope of the IMF is <TEX>${\Gamma}=-1.3{\pm}0.2$</TEX>.

UBV(RI)Cphotometry of the open clusters Be 15, Be 80 and NGC 2192

The three open clusters Be 15, Be 80, and NGC 2192 have been observed using CCD UBV(RI)_C photometry at the San Pedro M\'artir Observatory, M\'exico within the framework of our open-cluster survey. The fundamental parameters of interstellar reddening, distance, and age have been derived, and also the metallicity for NGC 2192 (solar metallicity has been assumed for the other two). By shifting the colours of Schmidt-Kaler in the (U-B, B-V) two-colour diagram along the appropriate reddening vector, the interstellar reddenings have been derived as E(B-V)=0.23+/-0.03 mag for Be 15, 1.31+/-0.05 for Be 80, and 0.16+/-0.03 for NGC 2192. Evidence is shown for a variable interstellar extinction across the cluster Be 80. For NGC 2192 a nicely consistent fit is obtained for both the interstellar reddening and the metallicity ([Fe/H]=-0.31) using simultaneously the F-type and red-clump stars. By fitting isochrones to the observed sequences of these three clusters in various colour-magnitude diagrams of different colour indices, (B-V, V-I, or V-R) the averages of distance moduli and heliocentric distances ((V-M_V)_o (mag); d(pc)) are the following: (10.74+/-0.01; 1202) for Be 15, (10.75+/-0.01; 1413) for Be 80, and (12.7+/-0.01; 3467) for NGC 2192, and the averages of the inferred best ages (log(age); age (Gyr)) are (8.6+/-0.05; 0.4) for Be 80, and (9.15+/-0.05; 1.4) for NGC 2192; for Be 15 there are two distinct possibilities for the age fit, depending on the membership of three brighter stars, (9.35 or 9.95+/-0.05; 2.2 or 8.9). The need for spectroscopic observations in Be 15 is emphasized to select between alternate reddening and age solutions, and for deeper UBV observations in Be 80 to study in greater detail the variable interstellar, or intracluster, reddening across this cluster.

The Bologna Open Cluster Chemical Evolution project: a large, homogeneous sample of Galactic open clusters

AbstractThe Bologna Open Cluster Chemical Evolution (BOCCE) project is a photometric and spectroscopic survey of open clusters, to be used as tracers of the Galactic disk properties and evolution. The clusters parameters (age, distance, reddening, metallicity, and detailed abundances) are derived in a precise and homogeneous way. This will contribute to a solid, reliable description of the disk: the clusters parameters will be used, for instance, to determine the metallicity distribution in the Galactic disk and how it has evolved with time. We have concentrated on old open clusters and we have presently in our hands data for about 40 open clusters; we have fully analyzed the photometric data for about one half of them and the spectra for one quarter of them.

Open Clusters as tracers of the Galactic disk: the Bologna Open Clusters Chemical Evolution project

AbstractWe present an update of the Bologna Open Clusters Chemical Evolution project (BOCCE, in short). We are conducting a photometric and spectroscopic survey of Open Clusters, to be used as tracers of the Galactic disk properties and evolution. We obtain the clusters parameters (age, distance, metallicity, and detailed abundances) in a precise and homogeneous way. We have collected data for about 40 Open Clusters and have fully analyzed the photometric data for about one half and the spectra for one quarter of them. We present here results based on these works and indicate what will come next.

Disentangling the Galaxy at low Galactic latitudes

We have used the field stars from the open cluster survey BOCCE, to study three low-latitude fields imaged with the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope (CFHT), with the aim of better understanding the Galactic structure in those directions. Due to the deep and accurate photometry in these fields, they provide a powerful discriminant among Galactic structure models. In the present paper we discuss if a canonical star count model, expressed in terms of thin and thick disc radial scales, thick disc normalization and reddening distribution, can explain the observed CMDs. Disc and thick disc are described with double exponentials, the spheroid is represented with a De Vaucouleurs density law. In order to assess the fit quality of a particular set of parameters, the colour distribution and luminosity function of synthetic photometry is compared to that of target stars selected from the blue sequence of the observed colour-magnitude diagrams. Through a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test we find that the classical decomposition halo-thin/thick disc is sufficient to reproduce the observations--no additional population is strictly necessary. In terms of solutions common to all three fields, we have found a thick disc scale length that is equal to (or slightly longer than) the thin disc scale.

Open clusters: their kinematics and metallicities

AbstractWe review our work on Galactic open clusters in recent years, and introduce our proposed large program for the LOCS (LAMOST Open Cluster Survey). First, based on the most complete open clusters sample with metallicity, age and distance data as well as kinematic information, some preliminary statistical analysis regarding the spatial and metallicity distributions is presented. In particular, a radial abundance gradient of −0.058±0.006 dex kpc−1 is derived. By dividing clusters into the age groups we show that the disk abundance gradient was steeper in the past. Secondly, proper motions, membership probabilities, and velocity dispersions of stars in the regions of two very young open clusters are derived. Both clusters show clear evidence of mass segregation, which provides support for the “primordial” mass segregation scenario. Based on the advantages of the forthcoming LAMOST facility, we have proposed a detailed open cluster survey with LAMOST (the LOCS). The aim, feasibility, and the present development of the LOCS are briefly summarized.